Chaldean Bishops Appeal To The Iraqi Politicians

Fay's NOTE: News from Iraq wasn't pleasant during the last two weeks. So, I took a week-long break from the news. I'm back with better energy.

In these last four years our Iraqi people have suffered and continue to suffer from threats, kidnappings, forced exile, attacks and killings which have provoked thousands of innocent victims and the total destruction of the Iraqi institutions and national infrastructure. All of this is a folly of human reason.

This is why we are urgently asking the entire international community, the participants at the Sharm el-Sheikh Conference, the coalition forces and the Iraqi political representatives to intervene without delay to protect innocent Iraqis, their property, their rights and their personal freedom. We also appeal to all of the religious authorities to let their voices be heard in the defence of the salvation of our country and its sons and daughters, so that the wonderful social fabric of our Iraqi society may be kept whole, because its loss would mean the disastrous destruction of an ancient cultural and religious civilisation.

We particularly ask that the threats, kidnappings and forced emigration of our Christians people is stopped and we affirm most strenuously that the Christians are authentic Iraqi people, one of the most ancient parts of the population. Christians have always sought to integrate themselves with their Arab, Kurd, Turk, Shiite, Sunni, Yezidi brothers, within the nations’ social life and have always had a most important role in the building of national historic values, decisively contributing to the destiny of Iraq through their peaceful way of life.

Moreover, we confirm the essential relationship between Christianity and Islam, as monotheistic religions through their teachings they both aim to spread Charity, the Common Good and Peace. God knows of our differences, which exists by his Divine will: “If Your Lord had wanted, he would have created all men as one nation” (Koran, Yonis, 99). We must accept his divine design and respect diversity, which makes of us one garden with different flowers, of which each one glorifies God the creator with his own perfume.

We believe that religion is a catalyst for peace and we are convinced that God reveals himself with great clarity in the practise of Peace, Justice, Mercy, Tolerance, Reconciliation and Forgiveness.

My brothers, enough with violence, threats, attacks and killings! Let us work together hand in hand to bring about Unity, Security and Prosperity in our land, Iraq.

Signed by a group of Chaldean Bishops.

Appeal To Save Iraq's Christians

The situation of Iraqi Christians has become so dire that Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, has issued an appeal on behalf of the Iraqi Christians:

Baghdad (AsiaNews) – “In Iraq Christians are dying, the Church is disappearing under continued persecution, threats and violence carried out by extremists who are leaving us no choice: conversion or exile”. This is the urgent appeal sent to AsiaNews by msgr. Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, while reports arrive of car bombs and the death of Christians in the Kurdish area, until now untouched by the confessional violence.

The bishop who is president of Iraq’s Council of Catholic Churches’ Committee for inter religious dialogue , signed a declaration regarding the “tragic situation of Baghdadis Christians”, denouncing militant groups which under the threat of armed violence ask Christians to convert immediately to Islam or to consign their property and leave the country. The same thing happens in Mosul, but with a different “choice”: pay a monetary tribute to the Jihad if they want to avoid their death.

Bishop Sako have these urgent words to the deaf world:

“We can no longer be silent – explains Msgr. Sako by phone to AsiaNews – we have to remind the world of the importance of the Christian presence in Iraq, for the good of Iraq”. “Christians are one of the oldest constituents of the Iraqi people –he explains in his statement– Since the beginning they have incorporated with its other constituents like the Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Sabea, and Yazedis; playing a pioneering role in the building of the civilization of Iraq. In addition they defended their adherence to the soil and integrity of Iraq courageously and together with their Moslems brothers. Everybody witnesses their loyalty, honesty, wisdom and their desire to live in peace and brotherhood with others. Christians have long lived with Moslems whether Sunnis or Shias in mutual respect and shared the good and the bad days together with them. They have been part of the Islamic culture for the last 14 centuries, by large without problems. Today they want to continue this existence in the spirit of love and under the charter of human rights”.

However in the current situation Christians are targeted as chief conspirators to be exploited or eliminated. They cannot openly profess their faith, the veil is imposed on the women and the crosses are taken down from their churches, threats of kidnappings and extortion weigh heavily over all of them. Msgr Sako lists the violence to which they are submitted on a daily basis: “now a days Christians are suffering in certain areas and cities in Iraq from forced evacuation, rape, kidnap, blackmail, scarring and killing. This unfamiliar behaviour contradicts the Iraqi humanitarian and Islamic morals. Let everybody realize that emptying Iraq of Christians will be disastrous not only for the Christians but for all Iraqis!... Forcing Christians to leave their homes indicates deterioration in the concept of conviviality and furthermore it destroys the cultural, civil and religious mosaic of which Iraq is considered to be the very cradle”.

People ask me how I handle the daily sad news coming from Iraq. I pray and write. Continuous blogging about the plight of the Iraqi Christians has become my mission lately. It's the least I can do living thousands of miles away from Iraq.

If you can spare a minute of your time, please say a little prayer to the Iraqi people.